On Sat, Jul 26, 2008 at 5:03 PM, Bruce Bostwick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
> On Jul 26, 2008, at 2:58 PM, Doug Pensinger wrote: > > > It's not just a numbers game. If you have the opportunity to bring > > a child > > into the world that has a reasonable chance to make a positive > > contribution, > > there are few arguments not to do so. The world doesn't just need > > fewer > > people; it needs more people that can make a positive contribution > > and fewer > > whose lives will ultimately be fruitless (not to mention miserable). > > That's another matter entirely than restricting childbirth. That's a > value distinction as to who is more or less entitled to reproduce. > > And on that, I will agree with you, that some parents are probably > better candidates to reproduce the species than others. But, as a > member of the species yourself, are you prepared for the > responsibility of making that choice for every would-be parent on > earth? And would you be prepared to defend your decisions against the > inevitable challenges and explain why you made the decision the way > you did in every case? (It's a safe bet that any decision along those > lines will be challenged, no matter what you do, either by the parents > themselves if you say no to them, or by other parents if you say yes > and they're not satisfied that you made a fair decision.) > > There's merit to granting birth-privileges to the best and the > brightest, in the most basic analysis. It's the execution of the > concept where the very devil is in the details. And it ultimately > comes down to trusting someone to make a fair decision .. which is > itself a very non-trivial problem. > > "There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a > little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider > price only are this man's lawful prey." -- John Ruskin > > > _______________________________________________ > http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l > Everytime I hear the phrase "best and the brightest" I think of David Halberstram and Vietnam john _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
